Electronics in Harmony with Nature

During an era when environmental issues such as pollution and climate change were becoming apparent on a global scale, the Murata Group established the Environmental Committee in 1994 to deliberate on and decide environmental matters that required company-wide action and to ensure the deployment of policies and medium- to long-term initiatives across our business activities.
The committee, chaired by an executive officer, continues to evolve by reviewing its membership and structure while identifying issues to address in response to social trends and customer requirements.
As climate change has become a critical issue in its own right, the Climate Change Committee was spun off as an independent body in 2009 to address it in a specialized capacity.

To reduce atmospheric emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), we began installing regenerative thermal oxidizers (RTOs) in 1998. These devices decompose and detoxify VOCs by combusting them at high temperatures.
While RTOs can reduce VOC emissions to the atmosphere, they also emit greenhouse gases (GHGs) through combustion, posing a difficult trade-off between “air pollution prevention” and “climate change mitigation.”
To address this, Murata applied its ceramic capacitor material design technology to develop a heat-resistant ceramic catalyst material for exhaust gas treatment.
By installing these ceramic catalysts in RTOs and improving decomposition efficiency, we are also working to reduce GHG emissions.

Link: Environmental Load Reduction Solution: Heat-Resistant Ceramic Catalyst for Factory Exhaust Gas Treatment (Japanese)

Since 1995, we have established voluntary standards to balance conservation of the natural environment with sustainable business activities, including converting underground tanks to above-ground installations, replacing buried piping with overhead piping, and applying anti-permeation coatings to prevent the risk of chemical substances leaching into the ground and causing contamination.

• Prohibition of underground storage tanks (in principle)
  Storage tanks for fuel, organic solvents, acids, and alkalis (both new and waste) must, as a rule, be installed above ground. If underground installation is required by regulation, double-walled tanks must be used.
• Prohibition of underground piping
  Transfer piping for fuel, organic solvents, acids, and alkalis (both new and waste) must be installed overhead.
• Anti-permeation coating
  Areas where fuel, organic solvents, acids, and alkalis (both new and waste) are handled must be protected with anti-permeation coating or stainless steel drip trays.
• Emergency shutoff devices
  Areas where new liquids are received or waste liquids are extracted by tank trucks or other means must have structures capable of blocking leaks in the event of an accident.

To minimize the environmental impact of waste, we have promoted reuse and recycling to achieve zero emissions (zero landfill = 100% recycling rate).
Recycling ceramic waste—generated by raw material production and firing/molding processes of electronic components characteristic of Murata—posed particular challenges. However, we reviewed our production processes, refined waste sorting and classification, and worked with waste disposal contractors to develop new recycling methods and routes.
As a result, we achieved zero emissions at 21 sites in Japan by the end of March 2004.

We have continued these efforts globally, and in 2024, our global non-landfill recycling rate reached 98%.

In 2005, we launched environmental learning programs to foster environmental awareness among children who will shape the future. These programs introduce environmental issues and Murata’s initiatives in climate change mitigation, resource circulation, and biodiversity.
These efforts have led to outreach learning programs at neighboring elementary schools as part of STEAM education, covering the five areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, Liberal Arts, and Mathematics.

In 2008, we launched “Murata Forest” activities. This was the first implementation in Japan of the Model Forest Initiative proposed by Canada at the 1992 Earth Summit.
Coordinated by the Kyoto Model Forest Association, which promotes this initiative in Kyoto, we work in forests in Kameoka City, Kyoto Prefecture, on activities such as maintaining broadleaf forests, using felled trees for woodworking and charcoal making, pruning and thinning conifer forests, and creating benches and chairs from thinned timber.
In 2016, we received the Forestry Agency Director-General’s Award at the National Tree Nurturing Activity Contest.

This initiative has since expanded to several locations across Japan. Under the name “Murata Forest,” our employees and family volunteers, with the support of local residents, conduct thinning, undergrowth clearing, and other satoyama (traditional rural landscape) conservation activities.

In 2020, we joined RE100, an international initiative that aims to source 100% of the electricity used in business operations from renewable energy.
At the time of joining, Murata’s goal was to achieve “100% renewable energy use for electricity in business operations” by fiscal 2050.
However, recognizing the urgent need to accelerate the international community’s climate response, we decided in 2024 to advance this target and now aim to achieve “100% renewable energy use for electricity in business operations” by fiscal 2035.

Link: Murata participation in Global Environmental Initiative RE100- Aiming for 100% renewable energy use by 2050 -
Link: Murata Plans to Achieve RE100 15 Years Ahead of Schedule, and Sets New Carbon Neutrality Targets